Today I welcome guest author Amy Schisler as she shares about her recent release and offers those who leave a comment the opportunity to win a free book!

Many readers have fond memories of Misty of Chincoteague, the beloved tale by Marguerite Henry about the Beebe siblings and their Chincoteague pony. I still own my paperback copy, now falling apart at the seams. I don’t know how many times I read it, but I know that the book and the island left an imprint on my heart that I wasn’t aware of for many years.

In 2014, I began writing a book about Kate, a young woman who flees her life in the city to start over in a place with no ties to her former life, a place to escape and hide, a place to be reborn. Without giving it a thought, I watched my character pack her car and head to Chincoteague Island off the coast of Virginia.

This wasn’t surprising for me—my characters always do what they want and end up in places and predicaments I never foresaw. What was surprising was how vivid the location and the islanders were in my mind. I’d been to Chincoteague a handful of times, and have family who live on the island, but these images and personalities were so real to me that I began to think of them as friends.

Six years after the publication of the award-winning Island of Miracles, I can honestly say that many of the islanders are my friends. And as Kate found when she fled to the island, they have welcomed me with open arms.

Even before I finished writing Island of Miracles, I knew there was much more to tell about the Kelly and Middleton families and everyone they encountered on Chincoteague. I was certain that a trilogy was needed to tell their stories. Island of Promise followed and garnered nine national literary awards for inspirational fiction, and the trilogy concluded with the award-winning Island of Hope.

I thought I was finished with the island, but the island wasn’t finished with me. I had emails, online messages, and people at signings asking if I would set a book in Chincoteague again. My answer was vague at first, but a voice continued to call from the ocean waves, and the familiarity of the town and its citizens clung to me like salt and sand. I couldn’t brush them off and walk away. They had seeped into my pores, becoming part of who I am.

Last winter, I planned a return to the island. I didn’t know who would take me there or what I would encounter. Even as I began the first chapter, I didn’t know which character would spring to life and be the one to take my hand and lead me on an adventure. It didn’t take long for Christy to capture my heart and imagination. What was her story? What happened to her family? To whom was she going to turn and why?

Setting Christy’s own struggles against the backdrop of an island struggling to regain its place in a world gone mad felt like the perfect fit. After two years of living with fear and uncertainty, when few visitors ventured across the causeway and businesses shut down, everyone on the island is ready to live again. Two years after losing her parents then being forced to sell their home, Christy and her younger sister move to the place where their family found rest and refuge. She feels as if she will never live again, but the island that brought miracles, promise, and hope to many, proves once again the place to go for those Seeking Tranquility.

It's a funny thing, how we are inspired by people and places we least expect. If I had to choose a vacation spot, it would never be somewhere with sand. My most popular books take place on an island where sun, sand, and wild ponies reign. This always surprises me. Give me a wooded path to explore, a kayak on a lake, or a mountain to climb, and I’m at home. Put me on a towel in the sand, and I’m counting the minutes until it’s time to leave. Still, there’s something about Chincoteague that leaves me rejuvenated every time I visit.

Despite my lack of love for sandy shores, when I sit in my office and begin writing about Chincoteague, I’m transported. I smell the salt in the breeze and taste it on my lips. I hear waves crashing against the beach and gulls calling out overhead. Maybe it’s the painting over the spare bed in my office that first inspired me to write about the island. Whatever the draw, Chincoteague pulls me in again and again.

I look forward to traveling across Maryland and Virginia’s Eastern Shore this summer as my book tour takes me to Chincoteague and beyond. In between those travels, my mind will travel to another small town, this one in the Arkansas Ozarks. Unlike Chincoteague, Buffalo Springs can’t be found on any map or the pages of a travel guide, but the little town nestled between mountains and rivers is as real to me as the Atlantic beaches. You’re welcome to travel with me this summer to the ocean coastline and this winter to the Ozarks. Simply pick up Seeking Tranquility on June 15 and Sapphires in Snow in November. I promise exciting travels and heart-stopping adventures ahead.

About Amy: Whether Amy’s penning novels of faith and inspiration, books for children, or her weekly blog, she loves connecting with readers. Her first of twelve novels debuted in 2014. Amy lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her husband, their daughters, and their dogs. When she’s not writing, she can be found on a boat in the Chesapeake or hiking in the Rocky Mountains, most often with a good book in her hand.

Follow Amy online:

Website: http://amyschislerauthor.com

Blog: https://amyschislerauthor.com/category/amys-blog/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmySchislerAuth

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmySchislerAuthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8436890.Amy_Schisler

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyschislerauthor/

Giveaway: Leave a comment below to be entered into a drawing to win an ebook (anywhere in the world) or signed print copy of Seeking Tranquility (US only).

Excerpt: 

Christy handed the police officer a bag containing a Pony Pork doughnut, a glaze-covered creation baked with brown sugar and bacon. Personally, Christy thought the mere idea of that combination was revolting, but it was a popular choice among the male clientele.

“Have a great day, ladies.” Nick, a regular at the Sugar and Sand Donut Shop, tipped his hat as he walked out.

“He’s really cute,” Christy said in a matter-of-fact tone, watching the twenty-something in the crisp, blue Chincoteague Island Police uniform smile and wave at a couple passing by.

“And taken,” Diane said. She nudged Christy out of the way and placed a tray of fresh doughnuts on the counter.

“Story of my life,” Christy said with a smile and pulled out a sheet of wax paper from the box to transfer the doughnuts to the display case.

“What are you, twenty-three? You’ve got plenty of time.” Diane smiled at the next customer and took their order.

Christy bit back a sarcastic retort that she was twenty-four and had zero time in her busy days for men, or anything else, and finished unloading the tray of hot, fresh pastries. She could feel her hips expanding just from inhaling their mouth-watering aroma. Cinnamon, blueberry, chocolate, and lemon scents escaped from the case in a mixed wave as she closed the door and hefted the large tray back to the kitchen. When she returned, after making a stop in the staff bathroom, adjusting her ponytail, and washing her hands, a lull had fallen over the Sugar and Sand.

“What a story, huh?” Diane asked, wiping down a table.

“About the boater?” Christy asked. “Does stuff like that happen a lot around here?”

“Not usually with locals, more often with tourists who rent boats without any knowledge of how to use them. Just wait until summer. All kinds of crazy things happen once the island is crammed with people.”

“At least it keeps things interesting,” Christy remarked dryly. Though she liked the island well enough—it was pretty, and the people were nice—she missed the fast-paced life in and around D.C.

“Any plans for the weekend?” Diane asked, moving to another table.

“Besides working?” Christy took a deep breath and blew it up, sending a stray hair flapping in front of her eyes. “All I ever do is work.”

“Things picking up at the store?” Diane walked behind the counter, tossed the rag into the basket under the sink, and rinsed her hands.

“Yeah. It’s getting crazy. I must have made two dozen shirts on Saturday afternoon, and it’s only mid-May. That giant iron thingy scares me to death.”

Diane laughed. “Custom shirts are the most popular item sold here on the island other than toy ponies.”

“And doughnuts,” Christy said.

“And doughnuts.” Diane nodded and straightened the napkins, coffee stirrers, and smoothie straws on the counter as she talked.